


Earth Twenty-Seven

by brinshannara



Series: 52 Times Alex and Maggie Met [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Earth, F/F, Multiverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 06:10:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14395968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brinshannara/pseuds/brinshannara
Summary: What if Alex and Kara weren't close? What if Alex left the DEO after Supergirl had been recruited? What if Maggie came into the emergency room one evening while Alex was on duty?





	Earth Twenty-Seven

**Author's Note:**

> This Earth got started while I was in line at ClexaCon 2018, in a notebook with a pencil. It was finished in the middle of the night, less than seven hours before a taxi is supposed to take me to the airport for a company trip. The things I do for you people! ;)
> 
> Comments and kudos remind me that, though I write primarily for myself, others do appreciate it when I put my stuff out there. Thanks for reading. :)

Alex Danvers shut off the vidscreen in the lounge as soon as she caught a glimpse of the now-familiar costume.

“Supergirl.” She rolled her eyes. Ever since Kara had let the world know of her existence, Alex’s life had been decidedly different. Most notably, it had been to save Alex’s life that Kara had revealed herself. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel at least a little bit badly about her reaction to being saved and her subsequent reaction to Supergirl. If not for Kara, she would have most assuredly died on the aerocraft. Apart from anything else, she did owe Kara her life.

However, even that hadn’t done much to bring the adopted sisters closer together. It wasn’t that Alex hadn’t been grateful. When Alex had gone to Kara’s that night, she had, among other things, thanked her, but she’d also warned her and begged her not to reveal herself. Of course, as usual, Kara hadn’t heeded her advice and Supergirl was now a public figure and National City’s own superhero. That would have been bad enough, but it was when Hank had recruited Kara into the DEO that Alex had put her foot down. There was no way she was going to continue to work for an organization that was essentially exploiting her naïve adoptive sister, who was already risking everything by flying around as a caped do-gooder, just like her cousin. She refused to be party to any of it.

In the more than year since it had happened, she had found that she didn’t regret walking away from the DEO at all. She’d gotten into the residency program at a local hospital, due to her spectacular grades and two reference letters from old professors who had been wildly impressed by her tackling of an MD as well as a PhD, back when she was in school. They’d been only too happy to send in glowing letters of recommendation about her. National City Hospital wasn’t a top-ranked hospital, true, but they were thrilled to integrate her into their program, even despite the couple of years she’d spent away from school. So, here she was, a second-year resident, having traded in the title of agent for doctor. Alex’s day-to-day life consisted of learning more about everything to do with various medical procedures and had very little to do with Kara.

Except for when Kara showed up on the news. Which was most days. She sighed again and allowed herself to stretch out on the couch for a moment. Being Kara’s older sister had been exhausting. She’d spent too much time worrying about Kara and trying to protect Kara from her own idiocy and trying so very hard to prevent anyone from finding out Kara’s secret.

 _And now everyone knows._ Well, not that they knew she was Kara. Still, she was out there, for all the universe to see. Alex still didn’t understand why Kara was doing it, not entirely. It made her a target. It made everyone around her a target. No one Kara cared about would ever be truly safe — everyone in her life could easily be used as leverage against her, from the DEO agents to her friends at Catco, even Alex’s mother and Alex herself.

So when Alex had taken five minutes to herself in the resident’s lounge at the hospital, she was understandably annoyed that Kara had shown up in the news coverage. Again. She just couldn’t seem to escape the Supergirl phenomenon anywhere. She considered, yet again, the possibility that she should move and leave National City, maybe head over to the East Coast. Gotham City had always sounded like an interesting place to live.

She sighed as she pushed herself up off the couch. _Back to it._ No matter how bad the next ER patient was, it wasn’t as bad as the constant reminder that her adoptive sister was a costumed vigilante superhero.

Alex walked back to the emergency room, hoping things would slow down a little and resemble a more typical Martis evening. She sighed as an attending directed her to trauma room three. _No such luck,_ she thought to herself as she pushed open the door to the room. A dark-haired woman was on the bed, sitting up with the head of the bed at a forty-five degree angle, with Ron, one of her interns, examining her.

“What do we have?” she asked, gowning herself.

“Just came in, female, late 20s, GSW to the right shoulder,” replied Ron. “Entry and exit wounds, good pulse on the right wrist, no sign that either the brachial or subclavian arteries were damaged.”

“I have a name, you know,” the woman on the table muttered.

Alex shot Ron a look and _tsk_ ed irritably as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves.

“I’m Dr. Moore,” Ron said, taking the hint. “What’s your name?”

“Maggie Sawyer. Can you just stitch me up and let me go?” She attempted to sit all the way up but Ron was doing his best to immobilize her, without either hurting her or removing pressure from the shoulder.

“Mrs. Sawyer,” Alex said, approaching the table, looking at the woman’s shoulder. A lot of blood had seeped into the gauze pads. The leather jacket that was draped across her legs was clearly ruined; she’d obviously been wearing it when shot. The shirt she was wearing had been cut open and a surgical drape was being used to cover most of her torso. “Ma’am, please, just relax and let us examine you.”

“That’s _Inspector_ Sawyer. And I’m fine, it went right through,” she argued.

Alex pulled her eyes from the shoulder in question and looked up to meet the inspector’s gaze, annoyed.

“Inspector, Captain, I don’t care if you’re the Prime Minister herself,” she said, using the tone of voice that used to make the rookie DEO agents quake in their combat boots. “You’re in _my_ trauma room, under _my_ care, so you’re going to settle down and let me do my job, got it?”

She held the woman’s gaze, not willing to let this obviously stubborn individual, who probably tended to get her way through sheer persistence, win this battle of wills.

“You need to work on your bedside manner, _Doctor_.”

“Well _you_ need to work on wearing a protective outfit, _Inspector_.”

“Are you seriously going to tell me how to do my job?”

“Are you really going to prevent me from doing mine?”

The patient narrowed her eyes at her, but said nothing.

“Well?” she asked, not having the patience for a drawn-out argument.

“Fine,” the inspector replied.

“All right,” Alex said, addressing Ron, “let’s see if the bleeding is under control.”

Carefully, he pulled back the blood-soaked gauze from the entry wound. “Pretty good,” he commented, “seems to have just about stopped with constant pressure.”

“And the exit wound?”

“Ma’am —” he began.

“ _Inspector_.”

He cleared his throat. “Inspector, would you mind sitting up a bit, please?”

She did so, allowing him to examine the exit wound, which was padded with more gauze. “Same here, Doctor,” he said to Alex.

She nodded. “Good.” She turned back to her patient. “How’s the pain?”

“I’m fine,” she repeated.

“You were shot, Inspector. You may be many things, but you are not fine.”

There was a pause as the inspector clearly tried to decide if she should agree with Alex or not. “Maybe like, I don’t know, a three? A four? Out of ten.”

“You want something for it?”

“No.”

Alex sighed and rolled her eyes. “Of course not. Why did I bother asking?”

“Hey, look, can we just get on with it?” The inspector shifted uncomfortably.

Normally, in a professional setting, Alex was pretty good at preventing her emotions from being displayed openly on her face. But it had been a long day and she was still annoyed by seeing Kara during her short break and she still had another twelve hours or so to go on her shift. She’d had enough. “Seriously?” she asked, the annoyance in her voice clear. “We’re trying to help you here, Inspector.”

“And I’m saying I’m fine.”

Alex folded her arms across her chest. “So leave.”

Sawyer blinked. “I can do that?”

“You can,” Alex said, “but it would be against medical advice and you’d have to sign a lot of paperwork.”

“Let’s do it, then.”

“Dr. Moore, would you please tell me what Inspector Sawyer here risks by leaving against medical advice, given the nature of her injuries?” She might as well make it a teaching moment.

The inspector looked up at the intern, expectantly.

“Uh… Yeah, sure, uh, of course, Dr. Danvers,” he said. “Uh, first of all, the risk of infection. Especially without washing out the wound, she risks a serious infection.”

“And what’s the prognosis for an infected wound of this nature?”

“Uh, lymphangitis?”

“Very good. Would you please explain to the patient what that is?”

“Uh, it’s an infection in your lymphatic system. Left untreated, bacteria enters the bloodstream and could result in sepsis.”

Alex nodded. “Correct. And what is sepsis, exactly, Dr. Moore?”

“It’s when your immune system kind of goes nuts and your body doesn’t handle it well,” he said, explaining it to the inspector. “High fever and an elevated heart rate are part of the first stage. The second stage involves difficulty breathing, low platelet count. Uh, what else… oh, yeah, abnormal heart function and unconsciousness.”

The inspector looked back at Alex. “Seriously?”

Alex uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips, nodding. “Tell her about the third phase, Doctor.”

“Septic shock, the third phase of sepsis, includes all of the symptoms I mentioned before, plus the possibility of blood clots, risking organ failure and tissue death.”

“Tissue death?”

“Ever heard of gangrene?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Yeah, that.”

Sawyer sighed. “So what you’re saying is that I should shut up and let you do your jobs.”

“I mean, you’re welcome to leave,” Alex said, indicating the door with her right hand, before returning it to her hip.

“Just… do what you need to do to get me out of here.” She looked up at Alex. “Please,” she added, just a hint of sulkiness in her voice.

Alex smiled, satisfied with her victory. “We’re going to have to numb the area with a local anesthetic and then we’re going to have to wash out the wound to clear out any potential infections. Then, we can stitch it up,” she explained.

“Fine.”

“You can sit back, now,” Ron said.

She nodded and leaned back.

With Ron continuing to press the gauze against the inspector’s bare shoulder, Alex injected the surrounding area with five separate shots of the anesthetic. On the last one, her patient winced.

“Sorry,” Alex said, “you okay?”

“Oh, I’m okay, just a little nervous you’re not very good at this.”

Ron snorted and Alex shot him a look.

“Uh,” he cleared her throat, “Dr. Danvers is great at this.”

“Sure,” the inspector responded, drily, “I bet Dr. Danvers is just _phenomenal_.”

Alex snagged the suture kit and held it up for her patient to see. “You sure you want to be such a smartass when I’m about to decide how ugly your brand-new scars are gonna be?”

Sawyer rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, Doctor, I’m certain your skills far exceed what’s required for this simple procedure.”

She grinned. “That’s better.” Alex turned to Ron. “Ready for the lavage?”

He nodded and she walked him through the relatively simple procedure, once the local anesthetic had kicked in. She peered at the wound when he’d finished.

“Good job, Dr. Moore.”

“Danvers,” a fellow resident, Kate, popped her head in. “Danvers, can I steal your minion?”

“We’re _not_ minions!” Moore insisted.

“Do you do what we tell you to do?” Kate asked.

“… yeah.”

“Then you’re our minions. So, Danvers? Can I steal him? MVC incoming.”

Moore’s eyes lit up and he looking imploringly at Alex.

She made a face. “Yeah, sure, I’ll finish up here.”

“Awesome. Moore, let’s go, come on,” she said, slipping back out of the room.

“Thanks, Dr. Danvers!” Ron said, pulling off his gown and gloves and stuffing them in the trash, before following Kate out the door.

“How’s the pain?” Alex asked, preparing the sutures.

“Can’t feel anything,” the inspector replied. “I guess you _are_ pretty good at this after all.”

She smiled and brought the overhead light closer and examined the ragged edges of the wound, trying to decide how she’d sew things up. “You were really lucky here, Inspector.”

She took a breath. “Yeah?”

Alex nodded, not missing the fact that the inspector seemed relieved. “Didn’t hit the clavicle, the collarbone,” she said, tapping the bone in question lightly. “Missed the major arteries. Didn’t hit the ribcage. Obviously, it missed the ball and socket. _That_ would have really sucked.”

“I can’t even imagine.” She considered. “So what _did_ the bullet hit?”

“Your pectoral muscle. It’s going to be pretty sore for a couple of weeks, for sure.”

“Tell me I’m not gonna be stuck behind a desk, Doc,” she pleaded.

“That depends. Are you right-handed?”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry, minimum two weeks with a sling or things won’t heal right,” she said with a slight shrug.

“Well, shit. I hate desk duty.”

She smiled. “Ready for the stitches?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded and methodically began stitching the skin together. “So how did this happen?”

“A guy got a lucky shot in.”

Alex waited for the rest of the story, but when it was clear nothing else was forthcoming, she prompted the inspector. “And?”

“And what? He was lucky. I was less lucky.”

She sighed. Why did this woman have to challenge _everything_? “I mean,” she said, “isn’t it normal for law enforcement to wear defensive gear? Especially projectile defense apparel?”

“I was off-duty. The guy grabbed a woman’s bag. I saw it happen, so I yelled at her to call emergency services and chased after him. I had him cornered in an alleyway… I was cocky, I had my service incapacitator with me and had it focused on him, but he wouldn’t put his gun down. Who knows where he got one. Anyway, I gave him a final warning and he fired and got my shoulder. I went down, he ran off, but a patrol car responded to the woman’s call… and then they called for the ambulance. So we got the guy, but apparently my reward for trying to be a hero is getting shot and two weeks or so of desk duty.” She made a face.

“Didn’t occur to you not to chase him down without backup?” Alex asked, stitching the skin smoothly.

She scoffed. “Would _you_ let a crime happen in front of you without doing something about it?” she challenged.

Alex paused in her work and looked over at her thoughtfully. She had only been out of the DEO for a year and a bit. Back in those days, she had been prepared for every eventuality. She would absolutely have been carrying a weapon and would almost certainly have done the same thing the inspector had done, although she probably would have had a tactical team backing her up. “You have a point,” she said.

“Right? Like, not everyone can wait for Supergirl to just miraculously show up.”

Alex rolled her eyes at the mention of her sister’s alter-ego.

“What, not a fan?”

She chuckled. “That’s one way of putting it,” she said, before pulling her eyes from the inspector’s smile and deep brown eyes. She continued working on the stitches.

“That’s it? You gotta give me more than that,” Sawyer prodded.

She flicked her eyes back to the inspector. “It’s… complicated,” she admitted, returning her eyes to the woman’s injury.

“Well, now you’ve got me intrigued.” She paused. “Oh, I bet I know.”

Alex looked back at her, an eyebrow raised in amusement. “I guarantee you, you have _no_ idea.”

“Don’t be so sure,” she replied, slowly, a pensive look on her face. “That eye-roll? It speaks volumes. It says that you _know_ Supergirl and you know her well. Whatever it is between you, it’s _personal_.”

Alex blinked and stopped her work. She’d been trained to pass lie detector tests, to withstand even the most aggressive interrogation techniques. Was she really so transparent just a year after rejoining civilian life? She frowned.

“Aha,” Sawyer said, triumphantly, leaping on Alex’s change of expression. “I’m right. It _is_ personal.”

“What? No, I mean, pfft, no, you— you’re wrong,” Alex stammered.

“I’m a inspector, Dr. Danvers, I inspect.” She paused. “What, is she your ex or something?”

Alex burst out laughing.

“Okay, so maybe she’s not your ex,” Sawyer conceded. “But you know her, don’t you?”

Still laughing, Alex brought her left forearm to dab at her eyes with the sleeve of her gown. “Oh God, my ex!” She continued chuckling.

“You’re deflecting, Doc.”

She was, she knew it, but it was still a hilarious prospect that Kara was her ex-girlfriend. She managed to regain some semblance of control and forced herself to take in a breath. “Sorry, just, that was hilarious. Supergirl. My ex. Too funny,” she said, giggling.

“So why is it so funny?”

Alex gave another chuckle as she picked up the needle and resumed her work. “She’s not exactly… my type, let’s say.”

Sawyer hummed at that. “Don’t tell me my gaydar is off.”

She glanced back at her patient. “My, my, Inspector, you’re getting awfully personal don’t you think?”

“Maybe, but I’m not hearing you correcting my assumptions.”

She tied off the knot on the stitches and cut the material as close to the knot as possible. “As it happens, your gaydar isn’t off,” she admitted.

After stepping down from the DEO, she’d realized just how much of her life had been consumed by her job. So she’d gotten back in touch with her old best friend from high school, Vicki Donahue, and a lot of things had clicked into place for her. While Vicki was straight, Alex had quickly come to realize that she wasn’t and, more, she’d definitely had a crush on Vicki as a teenager. Further, she’d realized it had essentially been Kara’s fault that she hadn’t explored this side of herself during her adolescent years. That whole period in her life had been dedicated to Kara’s secret, always watching out for this new addition to her family. There’d been no room left for Alex, for her own life. Her entire existence had consisted of taking care of Kara, being the perfect sister. It had only gotten worse once her father had died, since her mother had retreated into her work, leaving Alex to be the responsible one.

Life had been different with more distance from Kara. She’d even been out on a few dates with women she’d met through various dating nodes on the CYCLADEnet, though she hadn’t really connected with anyone in a meaningful way, not as of yet. Still, it had felt good to get out there, to learn about herself. At 27, she had thought she’d been a fully-formed human being but, just a year later, almost everything in her life was different.

“So she’s not your type. But you know her?” she pressed.

“Sit up, please,” she said, “time to get the exit sewn up.”

With help from Alex, she sat up and leaned forward, her left arm still clutching the surgical drape across her chest.

Alex gently removed the gauze from the exit wound that Ron had placed there upon her arrival. The bleeding had mostly stopped, as it had for the entry wound. “Can you feel this?” she asked, palpating the damaged area, trying not to pay attention to the expanse of smooth, bronzed skin revealed by her sitting up. The inspector was certainly an attractive woman and Alex found, now that they’d stopped arguing, she was having to struggle a bit to maintain her professionalism.

“Yeah, some,” Sawyer replied.

“Okay, we’re going to use more local anesthetic here,” she said, reaching for a new syringe. Carefully, she deposited five more injections of the numbing liquid around the exit wound. “And now we wait for a couple of minutes.”

“Well, as long as we’re waiting, you can tell me how you know Supergirl,” Sawyer said, cheerfully.

Alex laughed. “I can’t tell you, but even if I could, you probably wouldn’t believe me,” she teased.

“Try me.”

“Well, Inspector, I apologize, but that’s classified,” she said, real regret in her voice.

Sawyer turned her head back towards Alex. “Classified? What do you mean, _classified_?”

“Before coming to this hospital, I worked for a federal agency that worked closely with Supergirl. Top secret clearance required.” She was, of course, leaving out the fact that she’d also grown up with Kara, but that nugget of information would likely keep the inspector from asking more questions. She hoped.

“Well, well, Doc,” she said, with a smile, “you’ve been holding out on me. What agency?”

She laughed. “Afraid I can’t say. Any more than what I’ve already said is classified information.”

“I’m a inspector. You can trust me.”

“Sure, sure,” Alex laughed again, “and who’ll protect you from the black ops agents who’ll track you down and bring you into custody?”

She raised an eyebrow. “What, you won’t protect me from your old co-workers?”

Alex raised an eyebrow back. “Aren’t we being presumptuous? Assuming I’ll be anywhere near you when the agents take you into custody?”

“A girl can hope, can’t she?” With that, she turned back, allowing Alex to continue her work.

For her part, Alex was slightly blushing. She was still new to this dating women thing and, while she was aware that Sawyer was flirting with her, she wasn’t sure how serious any of it was. “Let me know if you feel anything, all right?”

She nodded.

Alex started in on the stitches. The exit wound was, as expected, slightly larger than the entry wound. Still, it would only need a few stitches. Alex took her time, trying to ensure as small a scar as possible.

“So when do I get to go home?”

“We could probably let you go tonight,” Alex said. “Do… uh, I mean, is… um, would there… is there someone at home who can help you out?” She silently cursed her nervousness and tried to focus on the stitches in front of her.

A tidal wave of relief flooded through her when she heard the smile in her patient’s response. “I’m single, Doc.”

She felt the blood rush to her face again. “I was _asking_ if there was anyone at home who could help you out,” she corrected.

“Well, I live alone… because I’m single. Does that answer both your questions?”

Alex smiled. “It does.” Sawyer’s answer caused her stomach to feel as though it had flipped upside-down and Alex acknowledged what the butterflies meant. She liked the inspector and, based on the way the other woman was acting, it was possible her feelings were reciprocated.

Sawyer snickered. “Can’t believe you called me _Mrs. Sawyer_.”

“How was I supposed to know you were an inspector?”

“Do I really look like someone’s wife?”

Alex took a moment to look at her closely. No wedding ring, obviously. She was dressed in jeans and had been wearing a leather jacket. “Okay, I wouldn’t have thought you were married to a _man_ , but who’s to say you weren’t married?”

Sawyer lowered her chin to keep the surgical drape in position, then lifted and waved her left hand at her, showing off the lack of a ring.

“You should really try being a touch more observant, Doc,” she chided, smiling, moving her left hand back to hold the drape to her chest.

“You should really try not getting shot when you’re off-duty, Inspector,” she shot back.

That elicited another chuckle. “Okay, so, for real, do I get to go home tonight?”

She considered. “Well, you’re going to wear a sling and you shouldn’t use your right arm much for the next few days especially. Do you think you’d be okay at home by yourself? Honestly.”

“Absolutely,” she responded, “I’ll be fine.”

Alex finished up the stitches. “I’m not sure I believe you, Inspector.” She tied a firm knot and cut the material. She grabbed a mid-sized gauze pad and placed it over Sawyer’s exit wound, taping it to her skin securely. “You can sit back, now.”

She did so and looked up at Alex, an easy smile on her face. “I mean, if you’re offering to come over and, uh, help me out, I wouldn’t say no.”

Alex felt herself blushing again, so she busied herself with getting another gauze pad to tape over the entry wound.

“You getting soft on me, Doc? Your face is turning a lovely shade of red.”

That didn’t help any and Alex felt herself blushing even harder.

Sawyer laughed in response. It was a delightful, low sound that Alex suddenly wanted to hear more frequently.

“ _Anyway_ ,” she continued, still blushing, “you’re going to need antibiotics, you’ll need to change your bandages every 12 hours for the first five days and then every 24 hours for the next five. Then you can decide whether or not you want or need bandages to cover the stitches. They should be mostly dissolved at that point, though.”

“So I don’t need to come back for a follow-up with you to remove them?”

Alex shook her head. “No, they’ll dissolve on their own. If you notice any major discolouration or have a reaction to the antibiotics, of course, come back.”

“Is that the only reason I should come back, Doc?” Sawyer grinned.

“You know,” Alex said, pulling off her gloves and gown, placing them in the trash, “it’s unethical for me to see a patient socially.”

Sawyer gave her a look. “So you wanna see me socially?”

Alex smiled coyly. “Just sharing a fact.” She turned and got a sling from a cabinet. “All right, let’s get this fitted.”

Sawyer sat up, still holding the surgical drape over her torso.

Alex considered. “Actually, let’s get you a new shirt, first.”

She looked down and chuckled. “Yeah, that might be a good idea.”

She put the sling down on the counter. “I’ll go grab you a scrub top.”

Sawyer nodded. “I’ll be here.”

Alex smiled. “Be right back.”

With that, she left the trauma room and walked rapidly towards a nearby storage closet. She quickly found a medium scrub top which should fit Sawyer. At least it would help her to maintain her dignity. She smiled. Sawyer was flirting with her, she was flirting back. A thought hit her: was this what it was like to actually _like_ someone? True, things hadn’t started out wonderfully, but Alex found she had enjoyed their arguing at the outset. Sawyer was challenging. She was smart and she was tough and just… Alex sighed to herself. She was beautiful. It had taken her a long time to learn how to recognize it, but she was getting better about understanding when she was attracted to someone. And she was _definitely_ attracted to one occasionally infuriating police inspector.

She shook herself out of her reverie and brought herself back to the task at hand. Soon, Sawyer would be on her way home and Alex would still have about eleven and a half hours of her shift to go. She had to focus on work, so she decided that she’d give Sawyer her number and see how that would go. Maybe they could get a drink sometime.

Alex nodded to herself, happy with her plan, and headed back to the trauma room. She pushed the door open and laughed at the sight in front of her. “You fall asleep on me, Sawyer?”

She approached the bed and realized that Sawyer wasn’t asleep, she was unconscious. “Sawyer? Inspector? Can you hear me?” There was no response. Panic rising, Alex leaned down and put her ear to her patient’s mouth. She was breathing. She slipped her fingers to Sawyer’s neck. She had a pulse, though it was somewhat weak. She reached down and felt for her pulse in her right arm, in case the bullet had somehow nicked an artery that she’d missed. The pulse was there, but also weak. Out of habit, she looked up at the nearby IV stand to check her fluids and realized it had nothing hanging from it.

“Shit, I’m an idiot.” She quickly moved to the door and swung it open. “Two units of o-neg, stat!” she bellowed. Neither she, nor Ron, had ordered any units of blood for Sawyer. She came back into the room and gloved herself again, preparing the IV stand and getting a kit ready. Sawyer losing consciousness was probably the result of her adrenaline dropping, combined with the blood loss and sitting upright. She chided herself for not getting Sawyer’s blood type at the outset.

“To be fair, this is as much your fault as it is mine,” she muttered to Sawyer, “since you were busy being stubborn.”

She carefully dropped the head of the bed from its forty-five degree angle to a flat position. Then, she placed a pillow beneath Sawyer’s feet.

A nurse brought her the two units of blood and she quickly hung both bags off the stand. Practiced hands quickly found a good vein on the inside of Sawyer’s right elbow and she inserted the needle and began the blood flowing. She figured that she may as well use the already-injured side, rather than insert the IV in what would now be considered the inspector’s “good” arm. She taped it up with medical tape and then sat down on the stool, waiting for Sawyer to wake up. It wouldn’t be long, not with all the blood flowing to her head.

As soon as she saw Sawyer’s eyelids flutter, Alex relaxed. She took Sawyer’s right hand in both of her own. “Hey,” she said, softly.

“Mmph,” came the response.

“Hey Sawyer,” she tried again.

“Ugh, wh-where… what happened?” she said, trying to sit up.

“Uh, no, please don’t try to get up,” Alex said, standing, and pressing down gently on her patient’s shoulders, careful to avoid the bullet wound on the right side. “Just rest.”

“Doc?”

“Hi.”

“I was so tired,” she said.

Alex nodded and sat back down, rolling the stool closer so she and Sawyer could properly see each other. “Yeah, I bet. You had lost a fair amount of blood and were basically only awake because of your adrenaline surge,” Alex explained. “Once you calmed down and then sat up for an extended period, you passed out. So you’re currently lying down, your feet are up and I’ve got two units of blood for you, so you’re hooked up to an IV,” she said. “You’ll be fine.”

“Oh.” She blinked. “Thanks.”

“It’s kind of my fault,” Alex said, “I should have given you a unit of blood right off the bat.”

Sawyer gave a slight chuckle. “I didn’t really give you a chance, huh? Guess I really should have let you do your job from the beginning, Doc.”

“Well, you know, _I’m_ too polite to say such a thing, but since you said it first, I’ll have to agree with you.”

She smiled. “So now what?”

Alex’s eyebrows shot up. Was Sawyer referring to their previous flirting? “What, uh,” she cleared her throat, “what do you mean?”

“Do I still get to go home tonight?”

She exhaled, slowly, somewhat disappointed it wasn’t a more personal question. “Oh. Uh, yeah, no, that’s, uh, that’s not a good idea.”

“What if I were to ask you all pretty-like?”

Alex snorted. “Like how?”

“Like… Dr. Danvers, would you please consider letting me go home tonight so that I can come back here tomorrow, after I’ve slept and showered and changed, and pick you up for dinner?”

She didn’t even try to hide her smile as her blush rose once again.

Sawyer’s eyes sparkled as she smiled widely and Alex got her first look at the inspector’s dimples and thought that she, too, might pass out.

“Is that a yes, Doc?”

Despite wanting to say yes, Alex shook her head. “No. We’re going to admit you, get you a room. Overnight observation at the very least.”

Sawyer thought about it for a moment. “Does that mean that you’ll visit me?”

She laughed. “Well, I’m here for…” She checked her watch on the inside of her right wrist. “I’m here for another eleven-plus hours, so…”

“So that’s a yes?”

She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “That’s a yes, I’ll come visit you. Now,” she said, standing, “stay here, I’ll have someone admit you. I’ll check on you in your room, all right?”

“Sounds good, Doc.”

Alex smiled and headed for the door.

It was another three hours before things quieted down enough for Alex to go check in on Sawyer. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the inspector. Her smile. Her laugh. Her dimples. Her quick wit. Her stomach flipped upside-down in anticipation as she stepped out of the elevator and headed to room 2348.

Her face fell when she arrived at her room and she realized she was sleeping. Of course she was sleeping. Why wouldn’t she be? The woman had been shot. Alex lingered at the doorway for a moment, watching Sawyer sleep in the dim room. Slow, steady breaths, she noted, with satisfaction. She had a pulse oximeter on her left index finger. Alex glanced at the numbers on the machine’s display, next to the bed, and nodded to herself. Sawyer was going to be fine.

She checked her watch. It was nearly one in the morning. She’d have to get back down to the emergency room soon and wondered if she should wake Sawyer up. After a moment’s thought, she elected to let the other woman sleep, but she did grab a sheet of paper from the nurse’s station to scribble a note.

_Inspector Sawyer,_

_Came by around 1am to see you, but you were asleep. You looked too peaceful to disturb and, besides, you need your rest._

_I’ll be back around 4am, I hope._

_Dr. Danvers_

She tiptoed into the room and placed the paper on the table by the bed, tucking a corner of it underneath the jug of water, to hold it in place. She crept back out of the room and only looked back at the sleeping form of Inspector Maggie Sawyer once as she did.

It was closer to 5 when Alex was finally free to check in on her again.

“You’re late, Doc,” Sawyer said, as Alex appeared in the doorway.

She winced. “Sorry, sorry, it’s been a long night in the emergency room,” she said, coming in and standing by the bed. “How are you feeling?”

She nodded. “Better, thanks,” she said. “Guess that the blood helped. They’ve got me on fluids or whatever, too,” she said, jerking her head towards the IV stand.

Alex nodded. “Yeah, that’s standard.”

There was an awkward silence between them for a moment.

“Uh,” Alex cleared her throat, “can I, uh, you know, um, get you anything?”

Sawyer smiled. “No, but thanks.” She considered. “Oh, and thanks for the note. Although…”

“Hm?”

“You signed off as Dr. Danvers. Seriously? What was up with that?” she laughed.

Alex grinned. “Well, _Inspector_ , I didn’t know we were on a first-name basis.”

“We could be, if I knew what your first name even was.” She stuck out her left hand. “Hi, I’m Maggie Sawyer, an inspector with the National City Police Department.”

“Hi, Maggie,” she said, putting her left hand out. She delighted in the warmth of the grip as Maggie grasped it in hers, ignoring the feel of the sensor on her forefinger. “I’m Dr. Alex Danvers, a second-year resident here at National City Hospital.”

“Alex,” she repeated. “It’s a pleasure to officially meet you.”

“Same here,” she said, reluctant to release Maggie’s hand.

“So, Alex,” Maggie began, “would you like to go for a drink with me this weekend?”

She grinned widely. “I would love to, but…”

Maggie frowned. “But what?”

“But… you’re going to be on antibiotics for the next ten to fourteen days, so, uh, you really shouldn’t drink.”

She laughed. “Nerd.”

“What? It’s true!”

“Doc… _Alex_ ,” she corrected herself, “I don’t care what we do. I just want to get to know you.” She squeezed her hand for emphasis.

Alex couldn’t stop the beaming smile from reaching her lips. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. All I really know so far is that you’re as stubborn as I am.”

She chuckled. “Shall I take that as a compliment, Inspector?”

“Take that however you like, Doc.”

“A compliment it is, then,” she grinned.

“So?”

“So what?”

“So, do you want to go get a coffee or something this weekend?” she laughed.

“Oh!” Alex exclaimed. “Yes! I mean, of course, sure, that would be fantastic!” She was aware that she was babbling and yet, somehow, couldn’t stop herself.

“I think it would be fantastic too,” Maggie smiled. “Veneris night?”

“Veneris night.”

Alex’s pager buzzed and she made a face as she pulled it out of her coat pocket with her right hand and looked at the message. “All right, I need to get back,” she said. “But I’m off at about eleven. I’ll come back after my shift?”

“I’d like that,” Maggie said.

“Me too,” Alex smiled. “Get some rest before the annoying interns do their rounds and wake you up to present your case to their resident and the attending.” She squeezed Maggie’s hand before letting go, with great regret.

“Will do. See you later, Alex.”

Alex decided that she loved hearing her name come from Maggie’s lips. “See ya, Maggie.” She forced herself to leave and headed back down to the emergency room. Despite the brevity of the encounter, her heart was pounding in her chest. Alex Danvers had a _date_.

At 11:07am on Mercurii morning, after more than 36 hours on duty, Alex walked off the elevator, a spring in her step, despite the lack of sleep. She was in her street clothes, consisting of a dark pair of jeans, a long-sleeved grey button-up shirt with a leather jacket to complete the outfit. It was all she could do not to run down the hallway to room 2348. She had a huge smile on her face as she walked right into the room, only to find it empty.

She frowned. “Maggie?” she called. It didn’t make sense. The bed was made. She took a few steps towards the bathroom, but no, it was also empty. She headed straight to the nurse’s station. “What happened to Maggie Sawyer in 2348?” she asked a nurse.

“2348, 2348,” she said, scanning the papers in front of her. “Oh, Ms. Sawyer was discharged about an hour ago.”

“Discharged?” Alex blinked.

“That’s what my paperwork says,” she confirmed.

“Uh, thanks,” she said.

“No problem, Dr. Danvers.”

Stunned, Alex turned and walked back down the long hallway to the elevator, wondering what on earth had happened.

Maggie had just left? Without exchanging phone numbers? Addresses? Anything? Dejected, she got back into the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor. They’d made plans for Veneris, so how could she have just left?

A crestfallen Alex stuck her hands in her jacket pockets and walked outside. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining brightly and birds were chirping, but Alex barely paid any attention to it. All she wanted to do was go home and not think about how she’d obviously read everything wrong. She had no idea what she’d done but it was clear the other woman was no longer interested. If she’d even been interested in the first place. Everything had been so clear, so wonderful, but now…

“Doc! Hey! I was hoping you’d turn up,” called a familiar voice.

Alex turned to her right. Sitting there, on a bench near the entrance to the hospital, was the inspector.

“Maggie?”

She stood and Alex noticed three things immediately. First, Maggie had changed her clothing. Secondly, she was wearing her sling and her right arm was properly immobilized. Thirdly, Maggie was shorter than she was by several centimeters. She found she was surprised, but supposed that made sense since she had never seen the woman stand up before. She blinked and realized Sawyer was talking to her.

“Sorry I wasn’t in my room,” she said, “but when they let me go, I thought I’d go home and put on clothes that, you know, weren’t covered in my blood,” she chuckled.

Alex nodded, dumbly. “What, um, what are you doing here?”

“I know I asked you out for Veneris night, but, uh, I was kind of thinking if you’re not too tired, we could hang out now?” She grinned. “And if you are too tired, we could just go for a quick coffee?”

She blinked again. “So… you went home, got changed, then came back?”

Maggie nodded.

“So that we could go out together now?”

“Yeah, yes, is that all right?” Maggie asked, suddenly sounding uncertain. “I mean, we didn’t exchange numbers or anything, so I would have come back for that, but was maybe hoping for more.”

Alex breathed and let herself relax. “I thought I’d read you wrong,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

She gave a shrug. “I thought you’d just left and I’d never see you again.”

“Oh, Alex, no,” she said, moving closer. “I’m so sorry.”

She took another deep breath. “I, uh…” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I’m kind of new to the dating women thing,” she said, “so I really am…” She blew out a breath. “I really am an idiot about these things. You know?”

Maggie looked her in the eye and nodded. “It’s okay. I’m sorry for freaking you out,” she said. She reached out with her left hand and took Alex’s right. “I’m not normally this, uh, direct, shall we say, but… I like you. A lot. I think you’re smart and funny and beautiful and you’re as stubborn as I am,” she grinned. “And I want to get to know you. If you want to get to know me.”

Alex looked down at their joined hands and back up into the dark brown of Maggie’s eyes. “I’d really like that, because I like you, too,” she said, quietly.

She smiled. “So, something now? Or on Veneris? It’s up to you.”

“Both? Can we do both?”

Maggie chuckled. “Both is good,” she agreed. She pulled Alex’s hand to her lips and kissed the back of it lightly. “I’m a firm believer that life is too short and we should be who we are and we should kiss the girls that we want to kiss. So yeah, both.”

Alex laughed. “That’s an interesting perspective to have.”

She shrugged with her good shoulder. “Bad stuff happens. In my line of work, it happens all the time.” She wiggled the fingers of her right hand, which were poking out of her sling. “Case in point.”

“That’s fair,” Alex agreed, remembering her own time at the DEO, thinking the same thing applied to her and to her sister. She made a mental note to text Kara later and see how she was doing. Life was, after all, too short for strained relationships. She smiled as she gazed at Maggie. “So we should kiss the girls that we want to kiss?”

Maggie nodded.

“Well, I, uh… I really…” Alex breathed, gathering up her courage. “I really wanna kiss you.” With that, she delicately cupped Maggie’s face in her hands. “I just…” She leaned down and kissed her sweetly. It wasn’t her first kiss with a woman, but it was the first time that kissing anyone had ever felt like coming home.

The kiss continued for a moment before Maggie pulled away and looked up at her, smiling so hard that her dimples were on display. “I thought it was unethical to see your patient socially. But kissing’s okay?” she laughed.

Alex grinned. “You complaining, Inspector?”

“Not in the least, Doc. Not in the least.” With that, Maggie snaked her left arm up to pull Alex back to her for another tender kiss.

As she lost herself in the kiss, Alex couldn’t imagine being happier than she was right in that moment.

**Author's Note:**

> **Each part of the series is a one-shot. There will be no second chapters or continuations within the series, so please don’t ask. :) Once I’m done with all the Earths, I may do a smaller collection based on some of my favourites from this series but that’s a long way off.**
> 
> _If you enjoyed this story, I'd personally appreciate it if you would make a donation towards the Maggie Sawyer Matters fundraiser at TrueColorsFund: https://my.truecolorsfund.org/fundraiser/1396280_
> 
> _If you can't donate, that's fine, too. For every first-tier comment that is posted before 11:59pm ET (GMT-4) on Monday, April 30, 2018, I'll donate $1 (Canadian) to the fund, up to a maximum of $150. Note that the comment must be related to the fic. :)_
> 
> ETA: Thank you so much for your comments -- I donated $45 Canadian dollars to the True Colors Fund in honor of Maggie Sawyer.


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